New! Alice Medrich's Macaroon Recipe

Because of my new-found hobby of churning ice cream every weekend, I have an over-abundance of egg whites frozen in the freezer - much to the annoyance of my housemates. One can only snack on so many Munavalgekook slices, but luckily, I have this recipe up my sleeve. The remnants of my pack of coconut flakes from the Avocado Coconut Ice Cream was sufficient for a batch. 

This feels like a regular macaroon's older, more sophisticated brother. Unlike the typical macaroon that is made from dessicated coconut (which tend to be finer, and less mouth feel when biting into one), coconut flakes remain really crisp on the edges but releases an intense coconut fragrance when bitten into. I made the macaroons in several different sizes looking for the sweet spot for macaroon size, and after baking, I found myself reaching for the smaller ones, which tended to be much crispier than the larger chewy ones. I also experimented with the variations that Alice Medrich recommended, such as a lime-zest-and-cinnamon combination (wow! An award winning combination), and chocolate-topped. 

Alice Medrich's Macaroons Recipe

Adapted from Food52

Pro-tip: if you're using frozen egg whites, one egg white from a large egg is 30g (Joy of Baking.) In this recipe, I halved the quantity of the original recipe as the crispness dissipates overnight, and macaroons in generally isn't something that I personally can eat a lot in one sitting. If you are making for a big group, or enjoy chewy macaroons, you can double the quantities listed here back to the original.

Lime zest and the touch of cinnamon is listed as optional, but it really shouldn't be, because extra zing of lime and spice elevated the taste of these macaroons from slightly above run of the mill dessicated coconuts into an art form.

Ingredients
130g coconut flakes
60g sugar
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 (pinch of) salt

Steps

1) Combine all ingredients in a metal bowl. Set the metal bowl in a wider saucepan filled with simmering water, and heat over medium heat.  Stir the mixture constantly, scrapping the bottom of the bowl to prevent burning. The mixture is done when the egg whites thickens and turns opaque. It will be very hot to the touch, about 4-7 minutes. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes so the flavors can meld.  

2) Preheat the oven to 175C (350F). Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven (if doubling this recipe.)

3) Using a spoon and your hands, mold the coconut mixture into attractive little heaps, about 1-inch in diameter. Position the macaroons two-inch apart. Bake for about 5 minutes, until the coconut tips begin to brown. Be sure to rotate each pan midway during baking, from upper to bottom third and left to right.
  
4) Lower the temperature to 160C (325F) and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until they develop deep golden brown edges. Again, rotate the pans midway during baking. (If the coconut tips are browning too fast in comparison to the middle, further lower the temperature to 150C (300F). Remove from the oven and let cool completely before removing the macaroons. 

Variation
Chocolate: 
Each macaroon can be topped with a center of unsweetened chocolate immediately after baking. (semisweet chocolate can be too sweet for this purpose.)

Lime-Cinnamon: Grate the zest of 1 lime into the batter before scooping it. Dash a sprinkle of cinnamon over the cookies just before serving (or grate fresh cinnamon sticks).